HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – An affordable housing project broke ground Wednesday in Moiliili.
The site on University Avenue will feature 35 rental units, including 31 studios, three one-bedroom units, and one two-bedroom unit.
Monthly rent will start at around $1,800, with utilities included, for households earning 80 percent or less of the area median income.
The project by Lam Capital was developed under the city’s Bill 7 program, which provides property tax incentives to developers and allows them to build higher and wider with no parking requirements.
“Demand for affordable rentals is overwhelming. We simply can’t build fast enough,” said Paul Lam, founder of Lam Capital. “We’re proud to be delivering high-quality, workforce housing for local families in the heart of Honolulu.”
“We are so grateful for the projects that have come into fruition across Oahu, and I think going forward today, I think Paul and his teamwork is really a testament to how we need to confront the challenges our community is facing,” said District 2 council member Matt Weyer.
Construction is expected to last around eight to nine months.
This is the fifth “Bill 7″ project by Lam Capital.
Chassidy Paclib, who lives in a development on Ernest Street, said being able to afford housing changed her life.
“I really appreciate this housing; it helps me change so much of my life. I was back and forth, homeless, house to house, in toxic relationships, making bad choices, and I had to grow up,” Paclib said. “This housing made me grow up really quick, and I actually thought I never could have my own place. I was always depending on everybody.”
The company is preparing to break ground on two more projects in October: a 53-unit development in Makiki and a 25-unit development near the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Lam Capital says the seven developments will bring 1,000 affordable units to Hawaii by 2031.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
